Kidney cancer

Short characteristic of a disease

In structure of oncological diseases cancer of a kidney takes the 10th place, but it is necessary to consider that in recent years triple increase in number of the patients suffering from malignancies in kidneys is noted. Men get sick more often than women that, probably, is explained by distribution of smoking among a male part of the population and more harmful working conditions. Especially the fact that cancer therapy of a kidney even more often is required to young people though earlier given disease affected generally elderly people disturbs.

The most common form of a disease – nephrocellular cancer. More than 40% of the registered cases are the share of it. Much less often educations in a renal pelvis and an ureter meet (on 20%). Sarcomas (mesenchymal educations) make no more than 10% of number of the registered cases.

Causes of illness

Kidney cancer which symptoms are found in people of any age now arises owing to the following factors:

• disturbances at the genetic level, in particular, loss of a segment of the third chromosome;
• Gippelya-Lindau's syndrome and other hereditary diseases;
• immunodeficiency;
• uncontrollable reception of diuretic drugs, especially diuretic means;
• diabetes mellitus;
• improper feeding with dominance of greasy, fried food;
• ionizing radiation;
• smoking is one of the most important reasons on which the person has kidney cancer. Metastasises at smokers are much more numerous and the disease proceeds, as a rule, quite hard. In general, the smoking people develop cancer of a kidney 60% more often, than those who do not test thirst for nicotine and do not communicate with smokers.

Kidney cancer stages

Disease severity is defined on the basis of comparison of the healthy and struck cells.

The I stage – tumor cells slightly differ from normal, healthy cells of renal fabric. Cancer develops slowly, forecasts favorable.

The II stage – moderate differentiated – the most often meeting cancer form. Healthy and sick cells have accurately expressed distinctions, but the tumor still grows slowly and will respond to treatment.

The III stage – a tumor goes beyond a kidney, affects the lymph nodes located nearby.

The IV stage – undifferentiated cancer of a kidney. The struck cells considerably differ from healthy, indicate an aggressive form of a disease. At the IV stage cancer of a kidney gives metastasises in the next bodies (lungs, a liver) and the remote lymph nodes. Cancer therapy of a kidney at this stage is considerably complicated or at all it is impossible.

It is necessary to notice that allocating kidney stages, doctors can not only classify a disease, but also determine the tumor sizes, its localization, increasing thereby the level of survival of patients.

Kidney cancer – metastasises

At late stages a slope tumor to innidiation in both the hematogenous, and lymphogenous way. Most often metastasises come to light in lungs, then in bones, a liver and a brain. Damage of a brain is most of all characteristic of the IV stage.

Kidney cancer – symptoms

At early stages cancer of a kidney can proceed absolutely asymptomatically. It is possible to define existence of a tumor or it is accidental, or in the presence of separate indirect signs. In process of growth of tumoral process, symptoms are shown much more brightly. To main of them it is necessary to carry:

• presence of blood at urine;
• the swelling in a waist which is probed at a palpation;
• weakness, weight loss, lack of appetite;
• deterioration in the general state;
• sharp temperature increase without any visible reason;
• increase in arterial pressure;
• anemia;
• pains in kidneys.

Diagnosis of a disease

Kidney cancer which metastasises got into the next bodies and the remote lymph nodes is diagnosed rather easily. Other situation develops at early stages of a disease when it is easy to confuse symptoms of cancer of kidney with symptoms of other diseases. The huge role directed by the correct diagnosis is played by modern methods of medical visualization:

• x-ray diagnosis;
• ultrasonography;
• magnetic resonance tomography;
• radio isotope stsintigrafiya.

Besides, to patients the biopsy and a research of urine is appointed.

Cancer therapy of a kidney

The choice of a technique of treatment depends on a stage of cancer of kidney, the sizes of a tumor, existence of metastasises and some other important factors. In most cases doctors use surgical intervention, and appoint operation even at metastasises as it allows to prolong the patient's life considerably.

At early stages kidney cancer which symptoms are absent or are shown slightly, it can be cured by means of organ-preserving operations, but even in this case an indispensable condition is the extraction of tumoral blood clots and removal of regional lymph nodes excluding innidiation.

At late stages carrying out a radical nephrectomy is reasonable (removal of a kidney including at germination of a tumor in the next bodies) or a laparoscopic nephrectomy (allows to achieve more exact cutting off of body and by that reduces duration of the recovery period, but demands existence of the special equipment and high qualification of personnel of clinic). Radiation therapy, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy in cancer therapy of a kidney are practically not used as show a low performance. The immunotherapy using interleykina-2, alpha interferon and a 5-ftoruratsil helps to increase survival term.

Several words concerning that, the probability to successfully cure kidney cancer is how high. The forecast in this case depends on a stage of tumoral process and degree of a differentiation of cancer cells. If innidiation affected a renal vein, then forecasts bad. The same situation develops at metastasises in the remote lymph nodes. In all other cases forecasts more or less favorable.